MUMBAI: Former pace bowler Ajit Agarkar has been appointed chief selector of Indian men’s cricket team after being “unanimously” elected to head a five-member committee.
Agarkar’s appointment comes after his predecessor Chetan Sharma resigned following a sting operation by a TV channel, which caught him making allegations against national players.
The senior selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, had initially been sacked in November after India were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup in the semi-finals in Australia. Sharma was reappointed earlier this year but resigned in February.
A three-member committee appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recommended Agarkar for the role of chairperson of the men’s selection committee “based on seniority”, from the total number of Test matches. The rest of the selection committee members include Shiv Sundar Das, Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola and Sridharan Sharath.
Agarkar, 45, has represented India in 26 Tests, 191 one-day and four Twenty20 matches in an international career between 1998 and 2007. Agarkar was part of India’s victorious squad in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.
In February, Sharma, also a former fast bowler, stepped down after his gossip and stunning claims were recorded on a hidden camera and aired by an Indian broadcaster.
Sharma accused ex-captain Virat Kohli and former cricket board chief Sourav Ganguly of a clash of egos. He also claimed the widespread use of unsanctioned injections by players to pass fitness tests.
Last year, the BCCI sacked the entire selection panel following India’s dismal T20 World Cup performance, but Sharma was later brought back before he quit.
